Closure curtains



Jan. 10, 1961 R. A. BROWN CLOSURE CURTAINS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 17, 1959 RICHARD A. BROWN ATTORNEYS Jan. 10, 1961 R. A. BROWN 2,967,734

CLOSURE CURTAINS Filed March 17, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RICHARD A. BROWN ATTORNEYS Unite States te f.

CLOSURE CURTAINS Richard A. Brown, 1916 NW. Overton, Portland, Greg.

Filed Mar. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 799,988

4 Claims. (Cl. 296-143) The present invention relates to improvements in closure curtains and particularly to those used in connection with trucks, trailers and the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a closure curtain that can be readily and easily held in closed position by a simple fastening means maintaining the curtain in a taut condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holding means of the class described above that can be operated easily by one or more operators from a ground position.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a fastening means for holding curtains to trucks, trailers and the like that When installed in closed position becomes weathertight, and is particularly adapted to resist excessive wind pressures and the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for rolling the curtain out of closed position under complete control. This particular type of curtain is well adapted to be used in connection with open sided trucks and trailers where easy access to the same is desirable.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a curtain of the class described having means to prevent the billowing of the curtains on trucks or trailers, thus eliminating undue Wear to, the curtain in transit while at the same time keeping the overall width of the truck or trailer within legal width limits prescribed on highways.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention shown installed on a conventional trailer;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front end elevation;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on line 33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken on line 44 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, illustrating the curtain secured to a point intermediate of the body of the trailer;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional fragmentary View, taken on line 6-6 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows but illustrating the curtain in released position and about to be rolled up out of operating position, showing a roller about to be associated with the curtain;

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail side elevation, partially in section, of the roller joint;

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on line 99 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 of a modified form of curtain locking arrangement.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference character T indicates generally a body of a trailer provided with a curtain 10. The upper edge 11 of the curtain 10 is secured to the upper portion of the body T as for instance the top 12 of the trailer T. The lower edge 13 of the curtain it is held to the framework 14 below the open side of the trailer T by lacing 15.

The lacing 15 is threaded through openings 16 of the curtain and under hooks 17, forming part of the frame 14 of the trailer T.

Running horizontally, longitudinally of the center of the curtain 10 and embedded therein is a reinforcing cable 18. This cable 18 extends around the corners 19 of the body T of the trailer and is slidably anchored to a hook 20. A flexible spring 21 anchored to the body of the trailer at 22 is secured to the cable 18. This'structure keeps the curtain 10 from billowing in transit.

A flap is secured slightly above the lower edge of the curtain 10 by suitable means, as at 24, throughout the length of the curtain. The flap 23 is adapted to close the gap between the lower edge 13 of the curtain and the bottom 25 of the trailer T, the lacing 15 holding the same against the edge of the trailer T.

One outstanding feature of the invention is the manner in which the curtain 10 is anchored to the corners of the trailer T, or truck, which I will now describe. Curtain holding strips 26 are slidably secured to the bead 27 formed on the vertical ends of the curtain 10' by means of a longitudinally disposed groove 28 formed on the edge of the strip 26. Openings 29 are formed in spaced apart relation throughout the length of the strip26. The openings 29 fit over outwardly extending pins 35 fixedly secured to the'corner i the body T of the trailer. The openings 29 should be slightly larger than the pins 39. While the openings 29 are shown round, they could be elongated slots, the main feature being so that they can slip over the pins 30 With ease.

Vertically disposed angle bars 31 are hingedly secured to the front and rear walls of the body T of the trailer by the hinged members 32, associated with the pivot rod 33 forming part of the angle bar 31, as best illustrated in Figures 2 and 4. Located longitudinally of the angle bar are slots 34 which register with the pins 30.

Forming part of the angle bar 31 is an operating lever 35 located in easy reach of the operator. The lever 35: revolves the angle bar 31 on its vertical axis, releasing or holding the curtain ill to the pins 30. Pivotally mounted to the edge of the frame 14 of the bottom 25 of the trailer T are latches 36. The latches 36 hold the lever 35 in the'position shown particularly in Figures 1 and 3. When in this position, the angle bar 31 is held in a locked position against the reinforcing curtain holding strip 26 of the curtain lll.

For the purpose of rolling and raising the curtain 10 when released from the holding pins 36, cables 37 each have one of their ends 33 fixedly secured at 39 to the top 12 of the body T'of the trailer. The cables 37 extend downwardly and have a reversed bend at 40 passing under the lower edge of the curtain 10 and the flap 23, as best illustrated in Figures 1 and 6. The cable 37 is then trained about the idler pulleys 41, thence to the pulleys 42 and down to a winch 43, operated by a lever 44. v

In order to roll the curtain 10', tubular rollers 45 are provided and carried in storage racks 46 under the body T of the trailer. The rollers 45 are joined together at 47, referring to Figure 8, so that they will extend full length of the curtan 10 when being used to roll the curtain 10 and to be separated for convenience of trans- Z,967,734 Patented Jan; '10, 1981 portation within the racks 46. The rollers 45 are used to roll the curtain when raising the same. Snap fasteners 48 on the rollers 45 cooperate with snap fasteners 49 located on the flaps 23 throughout the length of the curtains 10 and rollers 45.

The roller 45 is placed within the return bend of the cables 47 before raising the curtain 10, and at the same time they are secured to the flap 23 by the snap fasteners 48, 49. This permits one operator to raise and operate the curtain 10.

In order to maintain the curtain 10 taut while in lowered position, the curtain 10 is pleated or folded along the full line 50 and the dotted line 51. Tension springs 52 have one of their ends anchored to the curtain 10 at 53 and the other end to the curtain at 54, this puts a tension throughout the length of the curtain 10. The pleats or folds in the curtain 10 provide lengthwise adjustment of the tension elements 52. The reason for this is that the curtain 10 changes in length usually caused by moisture or thermal conditions, depending upon the weather, and it is most desirable to keep the curtain 10 taut between the ends of the body T of the vehicle, preventing billowing and the like.

The operation of this new and improved curtain 10 will now be described. On viewing the drawings, the curtains 10 are shown in closed position, the curtain holding strips 26 of the curtains 10 are held to the holding pins 38 by the action of the angle bars 31. The bars 31 are held in locked position by the lever 35 being brought around and held by the locking latch 36 in the position shown in Figures 1 and 3.

The tension springs 21 located on both ends of the cable 18 are hooked to the anchor points 22. This places a tension on the cable 18, assisting in the prevention of billowing or flapping of the curtain 10 in transit. The curtain 10 is also maintained in a taut condition by the tension springs 52. The curtain 10 is held down to the bottom of the body by lacing 15, as best il1ustrated in Figures 1 and 3.

In order to raise the curtain 10, the lacing is released from the hooks 17, the springs 21 of the cable 18 are released from the anchor points 22, the levers 35 are released from the latches 36 and brought around to the broken line position, Figure 4, which will release the angle bars 31 from the pins 30. After the strips 26 are removed from the pins 30 they can be slid downwardly and off the bead 27 of the curtain 10 so that the curtain 10 can be rolled up in the following manner.

The rollers 45 are removed from their racks 46 and assembled together, as illustrated in Figure 8, and attached to the lower edge of the flap 23 of the curtain 10 by the snap fasteners 48 and 49. The roller 45 is first placed within the reverse bend 40 of the cables 37, referring particularly to Figure 6. Next, the operator revolves the lever 44 of the winch 43, which will roll the curtain 10 from the bottom up to its top edge where it is held in a raised position so that the vehicle can be loaded or unloaded.

One important feature of the curtain locking mechanism is the ease of replacing the curtain holding strip 26 on the holding pins 30. It will be noted, referring to Figures 7 and 9, that the upper pin 30A has a head 30B formed thereon and that the upper end of the curtain holding strip 26 is notched out at 26A. The ohject of this is that when the curtain 10 is lowered and replaced on the pins 30 it is a simple matter to engage the notch portion 26A of the strips 26 under the head 3GB of the upper pin 30A. This aligns the curtain holding strip 26 and curtain 10 with the pins 30A so that it is an easy matter to place the strip 26 over the balance of the pins 30 by the operator. After the strip 26 has been placed on the pins 30, the lever 35 of the angle bar 31 is brought to the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 and secured by the latch 36. The final operation is to tie the lower edge 13 of the curtain 10 to the bottom of the trailer '1 by means of the lacing 15.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure curtain for vehicle bodies of the type including a bottom wall, spaced parallel end walls supported on the bottom wall and a top wall carried by said end walls with said curtain closing a normally open side of said body, and comprising an elongated flexible panel, means securing one edge of said panel to the side edge of said top wall, lacing means releasably securing the opposite edge of said panel to the side edge of said bottom wall, pivoted means on the adiacent side edge of each of said end walls for releasably securing the vertical edges of said panel to said end walls, a reinforcing cable secured in longitudinally extending relation to said panel intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, and resilient means on said end walls releasably engaging said cable to maintain said panel in taut condition on said body.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the vertical edges of said panel are provided with generally cylindrical beads, equally spaced pins on the adjacent side edge of each of said end walls, and a securing strip having equally spaced openings therein to receive said pins for detachably engaging over said beads for engagement with the means on the end walls.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein pulleys are secured to said top wall in spaced relation to each other and cable means are extended over the pulleys on said body for rolling said panel upwardly to a storage position adjacent said top wall.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein a ratchet controlled manually operated winch is mounted on the outer face of one of said end walls and said cable means is operatively connected to said winch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

